The Best Medicine
by wakeusanddrown
Summary: Widowed Aria thought she had everything she wanted, but all that changed when a divorced Ezra waltzes into the ER with his son.


_**The Best Medicine**_

 _ **Chapter One: Code White**_

"You look like shit." Aria turned toward the door, stopping mid-swirl of her spoon, and glared at the tall man. Blowing a strand of hair from her eyes, she turned back toward her mug and continued swirling the concoction of sugar, milk, and a dash of coffee.

"Okay, okay. I get it. Don't talk to you before you have your coffee." She shook her head, adding a tablespoon of sugar to the already sugary mixture.

"Would you like some coffee with that sugar?" The short blonde grinned as she came bouncing into the faculty break room.

"I wouldn't bother yet, Maiya. She's grouchy." Maiya giggled at that statement, turning sparkling green eyes toward Aria.

"Long night?"

"Not _that_ kind of night," Aria was quick to state at Harvey's bemused grin. The man couldn't seem to understand that not everyone was the player that he was. "Rebekah had nightmares. Neither one of us slept well."

"I hate when that happens. Kids are the lucky ones, though. They get to sleep it off at the sitter's while we have to work through it." Aria nodded in agreement with Maiya's statement, laughing at Harvey's sudden lapse into silence. He didn't have kids - swearing that the married with children life wasn't for him.

"Don't give me that look. This is exactly why I don't have kids. I value me time." Harvey shrugged, sipping his coffee as the sound of a loud beep filled the small room. All three doctors glanced at the pagers that hung on the pockets of their lap coats.

"Not me," Harvey announced.

"Me neither."

"It's me. I'll talk to you guys later," Aria sighed, taking a large gulp out of her mug before setting it back on the counter and scurrying from the room. She stifled a yawn as she exited the elevator on the first floor and headed toward the ER. She didn't feel at the top of her game this morning and she felt awful about that.

Stepping into the large, crowded, bustling atmosphere of the ER, she scanned the room for Doctor Weber. She was a bit apprehensive about working in close quarters with the grouchy, older doctor. He never had a nice word to say and thought he was a god-given gift to the hospital. His arrogance always managed to put her in a bad mood and she had no doubt that if he were calling for her aid, he was already in a bad mood.

"He's behind the second curtain," a young nurse offered as she rushed past Aria. Aria smiled kindly at the girl and took a deep breath, steeling herself before inching toward the curtain. She could hear the deep, annoyed tone of Doctor Weber's voice and shook her head. _She_ had been paged which meant a child was involved. He could soften his damn tone.

Shoving the curtain to the side, she entered the small, enclosed area. She took a tiny, defensive step backwards as the older doctor shoved a grey binder into her chest. Composing herself, she grasped the wooden board and shook her head as the white-headed man threw his arms in the air and stomped to the other side of the curtain. Taking a moment to glance at the chart, she moved toward the cot. Placing the binder on a chair by the bed, she took her stethoscope from her pocket.

"Hi, Teddy. I'm Doctor Montgomery." The little boy grimaced through his smile, a tear sliding down his flushed cheeks. Aria tried to give a reassuring smile as she reached for the thermometer and placed the covered tip under his tongue.

"I need you to keep this under your tongue for me until you hear a beep. Okay, Teddy?" He nodded his head slowly. She waited a moment for the tell-tale beep and pulled the thermometer from his mouth. Disposing of the cover, she placed the device back in its holder and frowned at the number flashing across the screen.

"You said he's having abdominal pain, Mr. Fitz?" Aria addressed the older man sitting by the bedside, the little boy's hand in between his. He lifted his brilliant blue eyes to Aria and nodded, clearing his throat before speaking.

"He's been complaining that his stomach hurts. His mom gave him cold medicine." Aria nodded, frowning slightly at those words.

"Does this hurt, Teddy?" Aria asked, moving her fingers to his noticeably swollen abdomen and pressing gently. Teddy's mouth twisted in pain and a cry left his lips. Aria removed her finger and apologized to the child. Reaching for the phone she carried in her pocket, she dialed a number and lifted it to her ear:

"There's a code white in the ER. I need an OR prepped immediately."

"Code white?" The older man looked at Aria, a nervous, fearful expression crossing his face.

"Your son's appendix has burst, Mr. Fitz. He needs to have surgery immediately to remove the appendix and clean his stomach lining to minimize the risk of a bacterial infection."

"Okay." She felt bad for the guy. He had the scared, resigned tone all parents had when she gave them relatively bad news. Patting Teddy's arm, she moved toward the curtain.

"My team will be here in a moment to take him to the operating room. While they do that, I need you to fill out the paperwork giving us permission to perform the surgery, Mr. Fitz."

"Ezra," he offered, standing from his chair, kissing Teddy's forehead and following Aria to the front desk.

"Ezra, it is then," she stated, stopping in front of the large, square desk and talking to the receptionist, "I need a surgical consent form."

Taking the paper from the receptionist, she placed it on the desk before Ezra and grabbed a pen. Uncapping the blue ink-pen, she placed it on top of the paper and watched as Ezra unsteadily gripped it in his hand, signing where she pointed. Placing the pen back on the desk, he slid the paper toward Aria.

"The surgery can take up to two hours. It will depend on the severity of Teddy's condition. Does he have any allergies I need to be aware of?" Ezra shook his head vigorously, following Aria down the hall and toward the elevator. Inside the elevator, Aria punched the button for the sixth floor.

"I'll walk you to the waiting room. You'll be given a pager and a patient number that will be assigned to your son. You'll get a notification when he goes into surgery and when he is in recovery. If we have any complications, I will page you."

"Complications?" He turned a fearful gaze to her as the elevator doors dinged open.

"It is unlikely, but it's possible," Aria said, turning right out of the elevator and leading Ezra to a large waiting area, "I've done hundreds of surgeries. Teddy should do fine."

She took a deep breath, feeling the strain of monitoring her words. There were a few times she had come close to promising that the little boy _would_ be okay. Making an absolute promise was something that she had learned early in her resident years not to do. Promises were easily broken. Even the most routine surgery could go wrong.

Parting ways with Ezra at the waiting room, she stepped through the double doors that led to the operating rooms. She was happy to see that her team were already scrubbing in as she walked into the large, sterile room. Quickly scrubbing in herself, she nodded her head to an unheard tune as she watched Teddy with the anaesthesiologist through the two-way glass. By the time she stepped into the cool room, goosebumps rising on her flesh, the small boy was already out.

"Let's get to work," she announced, walking to the metal table.

"Mr. Fitz," Aria called gently, entering the waiting area and immediately heading for the seats in the back. Ezra's head shot up at the sound of her voice and he quickly stood, the pager in his lap crashing to the floor.

"I'm sorry," he stumbled over his words, bending to retrieve the small, plastic equipment and noticing the beeping light.

"You fell asleep," she allowed a bemused grin to cover her face. He rubbed the nape of his neck, sheepishly.

"I haven't slept since I picked him up Sunday night," he cleared his throat, "How is he?"

"He did great. He's in recovery at the moment. We'll move him to his own room once he wakes up and I want to keep him overnight, just as a precaution. You should be going home in the morning."

A relieved smile crossed his face and he wrapped his arms around the petite woman, hugging her tightly. Aria hesitated for a moment, berating her body for the tingles coursing through her, causing every nerve to stand at attention. She had noticed earlier that he was good looking, but she had attempted to quell that thought. Finally, she wrapped her arms around him, patting his back.

"Thank you," he said into her hair before releasing her, placing his hands in his back pockets.

"As soon as we move him, I'll have a nurse show you to his room," she offered, placing her own hands in the pockets of her lab coat, "It could take another hour. Why don't you grab something to eat while you're waiting? The cafeteria doesn't have the best food in the world, but at least it's food."

Turning on her heel, Aria tried to stifle a yawn as she headed toward the nurse's station. She grabbed Teddy's file and added her signature to his paperwork before returning the binder to its place on the shelf and heading in direction of the break room. After two hours of surgery, she _needed_ her coffee.

She found Harvey reclining in a chair, a magazine spread out before him. She shook her head and made a beeline for the coffee pot, pouring the steaming, dark liquid into the nearest clean mug and adding a hint of creamer. She was confident she could do without the sugar this time. Sipping the liquid, she took a seat at the table and turned a questioning glance to Harvey.

"Do you ever work?" She wondered aloud.

"Don't be hating just because I'm better than you," he smirked, nonchalantly flipping a page.

"Faster doesn't mean better."

"I performed a biopsy this morning. That's all I had scheduled."

"I performed an emergency appendectomy on a three year old this morning." Harvey's gaze snapped to Aria and his eyes twinkled with amusement.

"You clearly win this round, doctor." Aria yawned, rubbing furiously at her eyes.

"You have anything else scheduled for today?"

"No."

"Already done your rounds?"

"Yes."

"Aria, go home."

"I can't. I still -"

"You're exhausted, Aria. Go. Home." Harvey tilted his head, giving her a look that left little room to argue.

"I'll have to clear this with Doctor Howard -"

"I'll cover for you. Go. Home. Spend some time with Bekah." Aria nodded, another yawn escaping her mouth as she stood from the chair.

"Fine. I'll go home."

"Mommy?" Aria smiled to herself as she finished closing the door. She tossed her leather briefcase on the floor, her coat following after. She didn't care about the mess - she could pick it up later. She barely made it into the family room before she was tackled by a mass of dark curls and tiny hands.

"How is my princess?" She asked, scooping the little girl into her arms and giving her sticky cheeks a kiss.

"Home early," Rebekah titled her head to the side, her brown eyes studying her mother, "Not dark."

"I came home early. Just to be with you." Aria tapped Rebekah's nose, grinning as the little girl burst into a fit of giggles and struggled to be set free. Placing her back on the soft, grey carpet, Aria watched as the child ran toward a heap of Barbies. Shaking her head, she turned left and entered the kitchen.

"You're home early," Laci commented as Aria headed toward her Keurig, hitting a few buttons and waiting impatiently for the steady drip of coffee to end.

"I didn't have any more patients and everyone agreed that I need sleep."

"Bekah's had a rough morning." Laci glanced toward the family room as she made that statement, listening to the sound of the little girl playing with her dolls.

"She had a rough night, too," Aria sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"I made her take a nap, but she woke up screaming. She keeps pointing to his picture and asking for him."

"She misses him," Aria's voice cracked and she tried to cover by clearing her throat. Pulling her mug from under the Keurig, she sat it on the island behind her and moved toward the refrigerator, pulling a carton of almond milk out of the door.

"I do, too. I keep expecting him to come through that door and give me hell for something," Laci chuckled, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"You were his baby sister. He lived to give you hell," Aria giggled, pouring a generous amount of milk into her mug before replacing the carton in the refrigerator.

"It wasn't enough, though."

"Laci, don't," Aria abandoned her coffee, rounding the island and wrapping an arm around the younger girl, "He died so someone else could live. You know how Jaden was. He wouldn't have wanted to go any other way."

"I know," she whispered against Aria's shoulder, pulling away and wiping her tears from her eyes, "Sometimes, it's kind of nice to feel a little selfish, though."

"I know," Aria nodded, turning around to grab her coffee and take a quick sip, "I need to talk to Bekah."

"Okay," Laci nodded, her voice cracking, "I'll be in my room. I'm working on a new painting."

Aria watched as the brunette left the room, heading toward the staircase. Sometimes, Laci reminded her so much of Jaden that it hurt. After he had passed, though, she hadn't been able to stand the emptiness of the large home and had needed help with Bekah. It wasn't easy being a surgeon and juggling a child. Laci had needed somewhere to stay - aspiring artists didn't make much. They had worked out an arrangement that kept them both happy - Laci had a place to live and work on her artwork and Aria had a free, live-in babysitter. It didn't hurt that Bekah seemed to adore her aunt Laci.

Entering the family room, Aria perched herself on off-white sectional. A smile graced Aria's lips as she watched Bekah play with her dolls - Barbie was currently racing a horse around an invisible track. Bekah's attention remained on her dolls for a few more moments before she seemed to sense her mother watching her. Dropping the doll and its horse, a toothy grin covered her face and she rushed toward the sofa, diving onto her mother's lap.

"Can I ask you a question, sweetheart?"

"What, mommy?" Bekah turned her large, bright eyes on her mother, watching her expectantly as Aria brushed a strand of hair from her forehead.

"Do you remember your daddy?"

Scrunching her face, Bekah shook her head. "Don't 'member."

"You don't remember anything?" Aria gently probed. Bekah thought for a moment before a wide grin covered her face and she clapped her hands:

"Pancakes!"

/

" _Good morning, sleepy-head." Aria giggled as she entered the kitchen and headed straight for the coffee pot. Pouring a cup, she didn't bother adding milk or sugar before taking a sip and grimacing at the bitter taste._

" _You're up early," she accused, wrapping her hand around the mug's handle and moving toward the stove. She placed a chaste kiss on her husband's cheek, peeking at the skillet in front of him._

" _It's nine. You slept in." She smiled at his words - he was an early riser and she was a far cry from a morning person. He had known that when they had started dating and it was an endless cause for banter between the two._

" _Is Bekah up?" She rounded the island, sitting in one of the wooden barstools._

" _She's been up since seven," he cocked his head toward the side, drawing her attention to the family room where the two-year-old tot was coloring furiously in one of her books. Her eyes lit up at the sight of her daughter._

" _Breakfast is almost done, Bex," Jaden called, the only one who had ever called their daughter that. Everyone else stuck with her full name or Bekah, but her daddy. It was their own special thing. The little girl tossed her crayon on the open book and pushed herself off the ground, rushing into the kitchen and climbing into a chair at the table._

" _Stawbewies?" Bekah asked, eyeing the Mickey Mouse shaped plate as her dad put it on the table before her. Her smile was infectious when she noticed the large, fat strawberries topping her pancakes and reached for one, eagerly biting into the sweet fruit._

" _She looks so much like you." Jaden handed Aria her plate._

" _She has some of you, too," Aria winked, cutting a piece off her pancakes and taking a small bite._

" _They can question if I'm her dad, but there's no denying you're her mom." He carried his own plate to the table and took a seat across from Bekah._

" _She has your personality," Aria pointed out, twisting on the bar stool to look at her husband. Jaden laughed at that, reaching across the table to muse Bekah's hair. Aria raised another forkful of her food to her mouth, grateful for how perfect her little family was, but completely unaware that she was enjoying her last breakfast as a family._

 _/_

Later that evening, Aria found herself in the local bar across from the hospital, The Curious Orange. No one knew how it got its name and the owner, Mark, wasn't very forthcoming. He liked to say that the appeal was in the mystery. Nursing a beer, Aria looked around the bar, crowded with doctors and interns alike - this was everyone's favorite hangout, and spotted Harvey sitting in a corner.

"I didn't think I'd see you here!" Harvey scooted around the small table, giving Aria space to slide into a chair.

"I'm glad you made it," Addison, the resident OB-GYN, grinned, "Mark! Another round of tequila!"

"Make mine vodka," Aria called over her shoulder, raising a brow at Addison's surprised face. "What?"

"You're drinking beer, not wine, and you just asked for a shot of vodka. What happened?"

"Just getting a little adventurous," Aria shrugged, taking her shot off Mark's tray as he neared the table and quickly downing it, scrunching her face at the warm burn. "Another."

Mark nodded, heading back toward the counter as Addison questioned, "What happened?"

"The only thing Bekah remembers about her dad is that he used to make pancakes." Aria furiously wiped at a tear as it slid down her cheek.

"Oh, Aria." Addison scooted closer to her friend, wrapping her arms around the other woman's shoulders.

"I'm fine." She shrugged out of Addison's embrace, wiping both eyes as Mark sat her shot in front of her and Addison's pager began beeping. She watched as the redhead pulled the rectangular device from her purse and read the tiny screen.

"I'm sorry, Aria," she began making her apologies, but Aria shook her head, brushing her off.

"Go. Save lives. That's what we do best." Addison nodded, shrugging into her coat and reaching across to hug Aria once more.

"We'll talk later." Aria watched her friend sling her purse over her shoulder and sashay out of the bar. Part of her wished that she had been on call and it had been her pager to go off. There was nothing better than surgery to take her mind off whatever was troubling her. Reaching for her beer, she paused mid-sip when she heard the deep, familiar voice of a certain patient's father:

"Hey."


End file.
